KickStarter Grim Dawn

[Nael]

I played it for a while on Veteran difficulty (highest allowed for first playthrough) then on Elite and the game has serious pacing problems, akin to Path of Exile where you endlessly shuffle trash mobs.
I picked an Arcanist, put my points into AoE (forgot its name, some aether thing going into fire later on), put literally nothing in health, just magic damage (spirit) and haven't died once.
But I could have died to several creatures I stumbled upon that had nonsensically higher level than me to the point I'd get two shotted if I lingered. And they don't have aimed attacks so it's impossible to fight them because you have to get hit.

The story is okay but the low quality of the writing and cliche characters strongly clashes with the somber Lovecraftian nature of the game world.
It doesn't make use of the game environment to vehicle the lore and is presented in a traditional wall of text manners with journal entries and so on. Too much journal "mwahahaha let me tell you my evil plan" scraps lying around.

The art direction is pretty bad character wise, especially the way gear is done. There is zero incentive to play from aesthetic standpoint.

Oh and the reason it's impossible to die as Arcanist (except for mobs 10 levels above you) is because everything fucking dies when I cast my AoE. No balance at all in this game, Diablo 2 Sorc seems tame in comparison. It's very dissapointing when literally unkillable creatures turn you back for more grind of mobs that pose zero challenge.
It's very dissapointing when game causes severe memory leaks despite looking worse than Titan Quest. It brings zero improvement to the formula

 

[United Nations]

Is the Crucible a full scale expansion or just DLC?

I don't know if anything could fix this boring ass game.

 

[Nael]

Is the Crucible a full scale expansion or just DLC?

I don't know if anything could fix this boring ass game.

I think its just a DLC. It adds an arena challenge to the game where you fight waves of progressively more difficult enemies. Sounds like Last Stand mode from DoW2. /shrug

 

[United Nations]

Is the Crucible a full scale expansion or just DLC?

I don't know if anything could fix this boring ass game.

I think its just a DLC. It adds an arena challenge to the game where you fight waves of progressively more difficult enemies. Sounds like Last Stand mode from DoW2. /shrug

I'm crossing my fingers that Crate will release an expansion pack on the level or greater than Immortal Throne.

Immortal Throne was actually better than vanilla Titan Quest.

 

[4249]

They are still intending to do a full scale expansion, as stated in the last Grim Misadventures.

The Crucible DLC is coming later this summer (pricing to be determined at launch). As a special thank you to those who have been with us at the beginning of Grim Dawn’s journey, everyone who purchased the game through our website prior to/during the Kickstarter, or through the Kickstarter campaign itself, will receive the DLC for FREE.

Beyond the horizon, you can also look forward to more free content updates for Grim Dawn, as well as the expansion, which is yet to be unveiled. Release of the Crucible will coincide with patch 1.0.0.5, which will include a balance/tuning pass.

 

[4249]

The store page for The Crucible has been set up on Steam, with a trailer and some screenshots, and according to Crate's facebook page it's releasing this week.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/483840/

Also the game is on -40% sale on Steam for this week if anyone's interested.

 

[Hoodoo]

I remember being so hopeful for their project on kickstarter. But then it turned out much more generic.

 

[mud]

I remember being so hopeful for their project on kickstarter. But then it turned out much more generic.

I think the some of the constellation procs with the weapon skills were fun to play with. games like this tend to get pretty monotonous, but aside from locking class selection and class levels I was still able to manage some fun shuffling around different ability loadouts

 

[Hoodoo]

I don't think they initially planned it to be a trash mob generator like Path of Exile. They had ambition to create an atmospheric open world RPG with hack and slash combat. But then they settled for just another Diablo clone.

It's efficient at that but the biggest appeal behind loot grinding games is the cooperative and competitive elements. Grim Dawn's multiplayer is more primitive than Diablo 2 so it's not going anywhere in that regard.

 

[Jaesun]

I agree that the project was a bit too ambitious, so they had to scale it back some.

Still, the overall setting was very satisfying, for me. I really like this setting.

 

[Coma White]

Grim Dawn's multiplayer is more primitive than Diablo 2 so it's not going anywhere in that regard.

This is really this game's biggest letdown IMO. Diablo II's multiplayer was INCREDIBLE in its time. You could play for years on end, and had reason to.

 

[4249]

They did intend to implement a closed multiplayer option in case the game does well back in 2010, so it's not completely out of question. Maybe for the expansion. I remember seeing talk about it in 2012 as well, but no idea if there's been anything recent about it.

While a subscription would help to pay for the ongoing costs of running secure servers, the big problem is getting the initial money to set them up. Right now we just don't have anywhere close to that kind of cash. If Grim Dawn is successful enough though, we might be able to set up secure servers in the future. I would definitely love to be able to offer this (and play on them!)

I do believe they intended the game to be a diablo clone in it's core gameplay from the start, due to the inherited TQ engine and keeping a lot of the base mechanics from TQ. The biggest shame of the game is that they couldn't live up to their ambitions of having a non-linear open world ARPG with lots of C&C.

TQ was basically a long, linear corridor. A lot of the area in each terrain region was taken up by boundaries and unplayable area. In Grim Dawn, it is a larger open space where most terrain regions are almost completely comprised of playable area.
[...]
I think play-time will be even more variable in Grim Dawn since it is less linear. With a wider, more open space, you could spend a huge amount of time exploring an entire area or race across it in a relatively short time since you don't have to follow a long, winding, linear path.

Well, GD still has basicly 2 long corridors one after the other that surely are wider than those of TQ, but still pretty much corridors. There are some side areas and secrets, but it's still a very linear game at it's core.

I'm interested to see how much Wolcen(previously Umbra) needs to give up on the open world design during their development cycle. They've already got level scaling where lower level monsters are always scaled up to your level, which sounds a bit alarming. I think Grim Dawn's level scaling with level ranges is a fairly good option, although I think the ranges could be tightened some more.

 

[ArchAngel]

GD never promised to be anything more than it is.
It main problem are player skills (too generic), not level design.

 

[4249]

Eh, I love the game but even I can't bullshit myself that hard, they absolutely did promise more than it currently is.

Grim Dawn won’t hold your hand to ensure you never make a bad decision and it won’t feature a story on rails with linear level design to prevent you from ever getting lost. It will, however, offer you the chance to do things in your own way, have an experience that is unique from everyone else playing the game and explore off the beaten path to see and do things that not every player is likely to find.

[...]

There is no one central story; there are many stories and whether you help the weak or help yourself and how you go about it is yours to decide.

[...]

Feature a more open-world design with randomized elements that will greatly enhance replay-ability. Each play-through will be unique with "set-piece" spawners that can turn a patch of wilderness into different types of enemy camps, a traveling merchant caravan, etc, each with their own unique art.

We don’t control where you go; you do! If you don't want to follow the main story, you aren't forced to. Non-linear progression allows you to unlock new areas by repairing bridges, defeating enemy blockades, etc, as soon as you have the resources and power to do it. Race ahead into higher-level areas and get pwned, we'll warn you but we're not going to stop you!

There absolutely is a central story and it's completely on rails and linear. As for having open world design... Sure, you can enter Act 2 areas when you get the resources to do so, but you wont progress past Homestead or Fort Ikon if you haven't progressed enough in the main quest. And between Devil's Crossing, Homestead and Fort Ikon it's just a linear corridor.

Every playthrough is basicly the same. There are no "set piece spawners" that mutate areas to be unique, just different blocked passages.

 

[Hoodoo]

Yeah. I even remember some threads a long while ago where the director would discuss about the difficulty of implementing C&C and an evolving world. He wanted to let you attack any NPC, spawn rover camps randomely or turn Devil's crossings in your own custom garrison.

 

[Hobo Elf]

Eh, I love the game but even I can't bullshit myself that hard, they absolutely did promise more than it currently is.

Grim Dawn won’t hold your hand to ensure you never make a bad decision and it won’t feature a story on rails with linear level design to prevent you from ever getting lost. It will, however, offer you the chance to do things in your own way, have an experience that is unique from everyone else playing the game and explore off the beaten path to see and do things that not every player is likely to find.

[...]

There is no one central story; there are many stories and whether you help the weak or help yourself and how you go about it is yours to decide.

[...]

Feature a more open-world design with randomized elements that will greatly enhance replay-ability. Each play-through will be unique with "set-piece" spawners that can turn a patch of wilderness into different types of enemy camps, a traveling merchant caravan, etc, each with their own unique art.

We don’t control where you go; you do! If you don't want to follow the main story, you aren't forced to. Non-linear progression allows you to unlock new areas by repairing bridges, defeating enemy blockades, etc, as soon as you have the resources and power to do it. Race ahead into higher-level areas and get pwned, we'll warn you but we're not going to stop you!

There absolutely is a central story and it's completely on rails and linear. As for having open world design... Sure, you can enter Act 2 areas when you get the resources to do so, but you wont progress past Homestead or Fort Ikon if you haven't progressed enough in the main quest. And between Devil's Crossing, Homestead and Fort Ikon it's just a linear corridor.

Every playthrough is basicly the same. There are no "set piece spawners" that mutate areas to be unique, just different blocked passages.

There was also talk about factions being more than WoW-esque reputation grinds for gear. I remember reading about all the factions being Neutral to the player and you could ally with any faction, even one of the alien ones, since that paired well with the original open world design. All of these ideas were chucked away somewhere between the completition of Act 1 and when they started working on Act 2, however.
Taken from the KS page:

Let you ally with NPC factions to earn rewards and unlock new quest lines. Be wary though, aiding one group can make another your enemy!

What else makes Grim Dawn different?
At its core, Grim Dawn strives to perfect the magical formula of fast-paced, satisfying combat, strategic character development and frenzied loot collection that defines the genre. However, we don't know of too many (or any?) ARPGs that let you make meaningful quest decisions and allow you to earn favor or go to war with different NPC factions.

I mean, technically it exists. But let's not split hairs and pretend that the way they implemented them is in any way the same as how they were being advertised. They made it seem grander, deeper and more meaningful.

 

[ArchAngel]

As last poster said, it was all implemented but I guess not to your expectations.
Still quests have more C&C than both PoE or D3 and the game still less linear than both.
And they don't have GD's faction system.

 

[mud]

As last poster said, it was all implemented but I guess not to your expectations.
Still quests have more C&C than both PoE or D3 and the game still less linear than both.
And they don't have GD's faction system.

The factions are pretty gimp, I'm not really sure how much of a plus that's supposed to be. You get certain rewards for killing generic faction associated enemies and doing their quests to run down a corridor and kill a boss you've probably already killed before. Enemy faction rep just gets you a few more boss spawns. Death's Vigil and Kymon's Chosen are only really different as far as which gives rewards more relevant for your character, and The Outcast just slows down your Black Legion rep for some caster rewards and a few extra quests. Is this really a big plus for you?

 

[Hoodoo]

As last poster said, it was all implemented

That's not even what he said. Neither are the quoted parts describing the current game.

 

[4249]

The Crucible is out for 5,49€. Will be on a -15% release discount for a week.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/483840/

I was kind of thinking the price would be even lower, considering how lackluster it sounds. Meh, I think I'll wait 'till it's cheaper.

 

[ArchAngel]

As last poster said, it was all implemented but I guess not to your expectations.
Still quests have more C&C than both PoE or D3 and the game still less linear than both.
And they don't have GD's faction system.

The factions are pretty gimp, I'm not really sure how much of a plus that's supposed to be. You get certain rewards for killing generic faction associated enemies and doing their quests to run down a corridor and kill a boss you've probably already killed before. Enemy faction rep just gets you a few more boss spawns. Death's Vigil and Kymon's Chosen are only really different as far as which gives rewards more relevant for your character, and The Outcast just slows down your Black Legion rep for some caster rewards and a few extra quests. Is this really a big plus for you?

As a KS backer I don't mind it. Only lack of enough interesting and diverse player skills.
It would be worse if there were h&s rpgs that did the c&c and factions better but there are not

 

[Emmanuel2]

Only lack of enough interesting and diverse player skills.

This is my biggest gripes with Grim Dawn along with boring, uninspired itemization. Came from an Eastern Sun/MedianXL Ultimative and endgame PoE background. Perhaps if I enjoyed TQ (it is so terribly slow) then skipped the games I've mentioned and when straight to Grim Dawn, I might not feel the same way.

Thankfully class mods or DAIL can help, albeit only to an extent, fix the diversity problem. I've spent more than 300+ hours (even made a PB guide back when it was still viable) on the vanilla game though so I can't complain.

 

[Cyberarmy]

I was kind of thinking the price would be even lower, considering how lackluster it sounds. Meh, I think I'll wait 'till it's cheaper.

Bought and played it a bit and it is really lackluster. Just a lame farming method at max level.

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

Are people serious when saying that skills are GD's biggest flaw? Character development systems in TQ and GD are way better than in any other h'n's I've played, the dual classing possibilities alone leave majority of the competition in the dirt.

 

[Coma White]

Are people serious when saying that skills are GD's biggest flaw? Character development systems in TQ and GD are way better than in any other h'n's I've played, the dual classing possibilities alone leave majority of the competition in the dirt.

Can you be more specific as to what you're referring to? Do you mean it's superior because you can choose two classes? And if so; why is that the case?